Re-introducing Dogs That Have Been Aggressive In The Past

[BC Love]

When we first got our now 5 months old BC we also had a JRx 9 yr old female. I had posted about their extreme fighting at the time, and was given the advice to speak to a behaviour expert.

That I did, he came over to observe the two of them, and came to the conclusion that the older girl was the one causing the trouble, wasnt exepting him at all into her territory ect ect.

Any way, that day we had family visiting, and my niece has always loved our older girl so it was decided (much to our heartbreak) that they would take her, leaving us with the Bc pup (the higher maintanence of the 2 lol!).

The behaviourist mentioned that it may be possible to re-introduce them at a later date.

Anyway - it has come to our attention that although they love our old girl - she is digging and trying to kill their pet rabbits (oops!).

We didnt want to make life difficult for them, and we love and miss our girl very much.

I'm wondering about the chances of successfully getting her back into our family (with no blood shed!)

If she did come back here, I wondered if I crate trained her (as the BC has been) to give her her own area to chill and eat bones ect. We can also have a yard that can be sectioned off while we are out ect to seperate them.

Any advice ideas ect would be much appreciated.

[Atanquin]

Might be okay as thy would have grown up a bit and your house will be the bc territory now but I'm not a an expert maybe just have the old girl visit to see how it goes and just let them met through a meshed door first then on a lead out side then if things are going well let them off and see what happens only if the onlead meeting worked. I would do it slowly and let them meet again first

[BC Love]

Thanks for the reply Atanquin.

I should has also said the my BC has been socialised - puppy schools, training and play dates ect, and does fine with other dogs, but I guess he isnt the one Im worried about!

[persephone]

Introduce them in neutral territory ..a park neither of them has seen, preferably an empty park ;) on leash at a distance, then casually closer - do not force them to greet each other .. walk them alongside each other for some distance ... then , if all is well, let them just relax a bit on leash still- and see how things are from there.. this can't be hurried ... there can still be damage done.

IF all goes well- the a few more meetings may be useful before you take her back home ..and my belief is she will still view it as 'hers' - so tread carefully.

[Keira&Phoenix]

What persephone said.

Edited September 9, 2011 by Keira&Phoenix

[Greytmate]

I agree with what Persephone has said as far as introductions go.

However I wouldn't have them off-lead around each other until you have seen the behaviourist. If the fights were extreme before, they might be deadly now your pup is bigger.

[poodlefan]

I would be reintroducing them under the supervision and guidance of the behaviourist you used last time.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Personally I would not be reintroducing them as I don't see this as a good mix. If it was bad before, what would happen if you were out and things escalated? Are you always able to keep them separate?

The size, the age and the types of dogs here are all vastly different, I just don't see it becoming harmonious now if it didn't start that way.

It's sad because you had the JRT for 9 yrs and then brought in a puppy, sent your old dog away and now that's not working for her. JRTs are hunting dogs and not compatible with small furry things or chickens normally.

Perhaps it's best to rehome her somewhere she will be happy.

[alpha bet]

Absolutely no reason why these two dogs cant learn to live together (They don't have to become the best of friends). Often have to deal with clients who have this situation and 90% of the time this can be sorted quickly. However it is important that you introduce them in a neutral environment and then have someone with you and take both dogs for a good long walk.

The fact that your older JRT didn't like having a puppy around may indicate that the JRT is a bit spoilt and used to getting their own way. You must be the one in charge and it is your decision as to what behaviour is acceptable from either dog. If you don't like how the dogs reacts then block the behaviour that is unacceptable and then let them try again. You must forget about what happened in the past and be calm and confident to make this work or otherwise it would be best to have someone more experienced and confident on hand to help this work.